[1]Photos: Jaime Diaz
Bernard’s father has always been into cars, but after living in Japan for 10 years, you could say Bernard officially got bit by the car bug. He went to all types of underground races in Japan, got addicted, and has been building imports ever since. Now, he lives back in the states and just recently decided to take up domestics.
Bernard claims the engine swap was made possible thanks to Import Muscle [2]’s LSX installation kit and help from a couple of local shops. The car’s shiny new paint job and swap were both officially completed this last October.
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Honda S2000s are super fun cars, there’s no doubt about it. Their small wheelbase makes for excellent handling and tight, almost go-kart-like cornering. Bernard must think no less, as he has owned multiple S2Ks. To put this great handling to the test, he decided to swap an LS1 into his current car. Good choice.
I love it when people ask “What kind of car is that?” Because it sure doesn’t sound like a Honda.
Today, this beast is pushing a whopping 603 horsepower to the rear wheels and 590 ft-lbs of torque thanks to a GTP Turbo Cam, BTR [4] valve train, a Stage 6 Motorsports [5] turbo kit, Fuel Injector Clinic [6] injectors, an Aeromotive [7] fuel pressure regulator, custom 3.5-inch exhaust, and a custom tune from Mase Engineering. Power is put down through a T56 Tremec [8] transmission paired with a Hurst [9] shifter for guaranteed sporty shifting. This gorgeous S2k is sitting on Buddy Club [10] N+ coilovers and rocks 16×7.5/16×8-inch Rota [11] Stripstreams for daily driving and Weld [12] RTS’ with Mickey Thompson [13] 265/60/15s in the rear for weekends.
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Bernard claims its will never be finished, but plans to clean everything up a little bit more, powder coat some things, buy a pair of Welds for the front, and maybe even build another motor to make more power. One thing’s for sure– we can’t wait to see what this gearhead does next.
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